Message from the President
Together, Making Life Better
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi President
Richard H. Wu
In 2023, the world embraced a new post-pandemic life but grappled with energy and waste management problems, geopolitical tensions, and other environmental, social, and political economy issues. In this era of challenges and changes, sustainable development is not only our responsibility but also an opportunity. Reflecting on the past year, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi achieved a record-high annual revenue of nearly NT$94.5 billion with the concerted efforts of all employees and partners. We continuously enriched our product offerings, enhanced our service quality, and achieved steady economic growth through innovative marketing strategies. We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supports Shin Kong Mitsukoshi and to all those who have worked alongside us. Your support and encouragement have empowered us to make great strides with confidence to expand our business and services and leverage our core industry strengths to implement sustainable practices towards a ESG-facilitated direction, generating positive and proactive impacts.
In 2022, we adopted the theme "R.I.S.E. to Lead a Sustainable Future" for our report, under the motto “Creating a Humanistic Touch with the Aesthetics of Sustainable Living” to convey Shin Kong Mitsukoshi's commitment to innovative reform and sustainable development. This year, we further unveiled our sustainability strategy blueprint, emphasizing four core elements that reflect our unwavering efforts and innovative spirit: “Safety and Trust,” “Shared Happiness,” “Green Environment,” and “Arts and Culture.” These elements position us to create more value for our stakeholders, achieve steady growth, and pursue excellence.
Introduction of New Brands, Retrofitting, and Upgrades | A Momentum of Promoting Arts and Culture
Department stores play a significant role in people's daily lives. Shin Kong Mitsukoshi operates 15 stores and 20 buildings, attracting over 120 million visitors annually. To increase visitor flow, we have strengthened our merchandise by featuring international brands. In 2023, we adjusted more than 1,000 counter vendors, offering diverse lifestyle proposals and experiences for our customers. Our mission to promote culture and the arts was highlighted by numerous cultural events and art performances. In 2023, we hosted over 200 cultural and performance events across Taiwan, including photography exhibitions, children's artwork exhibitions, and the Dream of Crafts. Additionally, we held several international artist expositions, concerts, traditional cultural performances, and themed events, investing in the integration of diverse cultural and lifestyle elements to enrich people's cultural entertainment options.
Nourish the relationship with our members | Strengthen the digital presence | Build the Lifestyle ecosystem
In 2023, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi experienced significant growth in its membership management initiatives. Our membership base reached a milestone of 3.55 million members, whose spending totaled NT$77.7 billion, constituting over 82% of our total sales. This achievement reflects the result of our ongoing engagement with customers, building strong relationships through various means such as customer rewards, marketing activities, and convenient services facilitated by our mobile app for digital gift vouchers and the reward point program. To adapt to the evolving digital landscape, we have strengthened our digital presence via skm app, skm online, the regular customer system, and skm eats. These channels seamlessly integrate resources from 13 product hierarchy categories and 15 stores, forming a comprehensive network covering various aspects of life, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, education, and entertainment. This approach enables the development of our OMO (online merge offline) omnichannel retail strategy, for a more convenient shopping experience.
In the future, we plan to leverage Shin Kong Mitsukoshi's brand value and membership to further solidify the position of "a platform providing a better life experience." By integrating virtual, real-life, and lifestyle experiences, our goal is to establish a "trusted ecosystem" for our entire value chain, encompassing consumers, suppliers, and business partners. We will utilize our membership system, rewards program, and digital resources to gain insights into consumer preferences and the latest trends. This will allow us to engage in cross-industry collaborations with finance, tourism, culture, entertainment, the internet, and OTT platforms to build an open ecosystem that is diverse and comprehensive. With this ecosystem, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi aims to become a trustworthy platform that connects branded merchants with consumers and enhance people's daily lives.
A secure shopping experience | A more rigorous management system
Since 2017, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has published standards and management measures for food safety and sanitation, ushered by the mission "Food safety is ensured, customers feel reassured." In 2023, we introduced the "Food Safety 2.0" program, aiming to create a safe and trustworthy environment for food shopping by implementing rigorous food safety management measures. These measures include:conducting monthly meetings, reports, and tracking, providing education and training to staff members, conducting internal and external audits, implementing product inspection through random sampling, ensuring clear labeling, and promulgating. Through the "Food Safety 2.0" program, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi is committed to upholding the highest standards of food safety and providing customers with peace of mind while shopping.
Meanwhile, we prioritize a shopping experience that is stable, reliable, and safe. We have implemented a series of measures and strategies to support information security and be the trailblazer in the industry to safeguard confidential information. Building upon the foundation of the ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS), we have further expanded the scope of certification and completed preparatory work for the privacy extension, ISO 27701. By conjoining online and offline approaches, information security management was further strengthened to ensure the protection of the company's confidentiality and data. These efforts not only enhance data safety but also elevate Shin Kong Mitsukoshi's competitiveness and image.
Care about sustainability topics | Ongoing sustainable development
As we continue our journey toward sustainable operations, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi remains dedicated to fostering new experiences, consumption patterns, and caring about sustainability practices, and the foundation. In 2023, our commitment to environmental protection and plastic pollution reduction was demonstrated through our participation in beach cleanup activities, showcasing our genuine love for Mother Earth beyond mere slogans. Throughout the year, four sustainability committee meetings were held, culminating in the approval of the "Sustainable Food Safety 2.0" project. We recognize the value of diverse perspectives and believe that hearing different opinions and reviewing proposals from various angles enriches our understanding of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) concepts. We will carry on with the process of translating our plans into actionable initiatives across environmental, social, and governance aspects in our daily operations. Moreover, we remain attentive to stakeholder concerns and sustainability issues, furthering our commitment to sustainable development.
Looking ahead, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi remains steadfast in its commitment to ESG principles, particularly in environmental protection, social participation, and corporate governance, to achieve our goal of sustainable development. Upholding the philosophy of "customer first, service with heart and sincerity," we infuse vitality and creativity into our operations and aim to enrich our offerings by combining various products, activities, merchandising, and store types, and developing both physical store and e-commerce. We will also plan for more strategic partnerships to create a comprehensive environment that provides well-rounded services to consumers.
In terms of expansion, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi announced a collaboration with environment to open another department store within Tainan Nan Shan Plaza. This will mark our third store in Tainan and sixteenth in Taiwan. We are currently in the process of designing the retail space and planning merchandise, with a grand opening scheduled for 2025.
Taking pride in our achievements, we are committed to continuous innovation, community engagement, and the development of new experiences, consumption patterns, and sustainability practices for a better life. Guided by our sustainability strategies—"Trust and Safety," "Shared Happiness," "Green Environment," and "Arts and Culture"
We aspire to achieve our greater goals and dreams by building a trusted ecosystem together with all stakeholder and making a better life together!